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New here and wanting to transition!

I am very interested in becoming a vegetarian and hopefully a vegan. My biggest concern is that I am already pretty skinny, close to underweight, and I am nervous that this transition will cause me to lose more weight. Any advice on this? And any advice on transitioning as well! Is it Ok to just go completely meat free right away or is it better to take it one step at a time, eliminating foods one by one? Thanks! :)

Responses

Go to www.adaptt.org/videos.html and watch Gary Yourofsky's GA tech speech. He talks about veganism and I think if you watch the whole thing you will decide to go vegan. I think the carnist
society tries to convince people that being fatter is normal. Some people think that they are underweight when they are a healthy size. If you are still concerned about being underweight you can still bulk up while being vegan. Eat A LOT of healthy fattening foods like nuts.Don't worry about eating to many. It would be hard/ impossible to get fat on a vegan lifestyle. If you eat the healthy vegan lifestyle(you can still eat improperly. make sure you eat everything you need) you will be healthy. I recommend that you go vegan right away. You don't need to go though steps to be vegan. You will be living a more ethical, healthy life.

Savetheanimals gives some good advice. Vegan isn't just leafy greens. Nuts and fruits can give you plenty of calories and legumes and grains good protein to balance the calories. Work out a balanced vegan diet and don't worry about being on the thin side to start. Add calories if you lose too much weight. Just make sure you are doing a healthy vegan diet and you should be OK.

@Pistellse Congrats on a great choice! Going vegetarian (hopefully vegan) will be one of the best decisions you've made in your life. Not only will you be saving the lives of countless animals, but you will add years and better health to your own.

As for the transition, there is no physical need to take it slow. You can jump right into a vegan diet. The main reason people take it slow and gradually make the transition usually has to do with breaking old habits. Like quitting nicotine, sometimes it's easier to whittle down slowly, some need to go cold turkey. So you may find it easier to go vegetarian, then go vegan. Or to go vegetarian for breakfast and lunch, then once you have the hang of it, add diner. Or start with "Meatless Mondays" then build up to every day of the week. Everyone does it their own way.

Personally, I stopped eating all meat cold turkey. Then I transitioned out fish over a month. I was HEAVILY addicted to dairy (cheese and ice cream) and found I had to give that up cold turkey to get off of it. Going vegan is one of the best decisions I've made in my life. I only wish I had done it long ago.